I could probably read a couple of articles and write, “Here’s what I read this month!” but I know nothing would come out of it. Apart from what’s going on in my country (elections–not my favorite topic to talk nor write about) or in Ukraine and Russia (I’m not equipped to broach this subject), I didn’t read anything so significant to write about in February. Why?
If there was a month for shoujo manga, this would be it. Gushing over 2D characters is not new to me- my first husband is a high school basketball player for Ryonan while my third husband is a former Geo Archon in Teyvat. While people around me celebrated Valentine’s Day, I devoted my entire February reading The Blood of the Lost Kingdom and many shoujo mangas.
In this list, I am only going to be featuring three out of a hundred -not an exaggeration believe me- manga I read.
Pu-jyo and the Beast(Ongoing)
What is it about: The female lead character (henceforth called FL) is infatuated with a wrestler, the male lead (ML), who usually plays the antagonist in wrestling matches.
What I think about it: That doesn’t sound like an unusual shoujo cast of characters. Their concerns aren’t similar to that of an FL falling in love with the hottest-looking guy at school. The only trope it has is that of a beauty smitten by an unlikely person who others perceive as scary. Like the title suggests, it’s like Beauty and the Beast, less the Stockholm syndrome and the singing teacups.
What is it about: The female lead character (henceforth called FL) is infatuated with a wrestler, the male lead (ML), who usually plays the antagonist in wrestling matches.
What I think about it: That doesn’t sound like an unusual shoujo cast of characters. Their concerns aren’t similar to that of an FL falling in love with the hottest-looking guy at school. The only trope it has is that of a beauty smitten by an unlikely person who others perceive as scary. Like the title suggests, it’s like Beauty and the Beast, less the Stockholm syndrome and the singing teacups.
The King’s Beast (Ongoing)
What is it about: It’s a battle between races -humans and ajin (half human-half beast)- and social classes set in the Dawn of Arcana (I haven’t read this manga yet but for those who have, I think you understand the setting. I just read the Dawn of Arcana but I don’t like it as much.)
What I think about it: What I find attractive in this series is the art itself. It is so captivating. I like the FL’s eyes and hair so much. Another reason is the story highlights the inner conflicts in the kingdom rather than revolve around the love story.
Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet (Complete)
What is it about: A poor girl who has to help pay her father’s debts (he’s just a guarantor if I’m not mistaken) works for a renowned writer. They sort out their feelings and get through their big challenge: a big age gap.
What I think about it: Having the main characters live together or be in the same space for a long period of time is a trope in many shoujo/ josei mangas and dramas. Coming in, I already knew where the story was leading but the series of events made the journey worthwhile.
You might have noticed that in the list, I didn’t mention most of the FL-ML names. The lousy excuse is I’ve read numerous shoujo and josei mangas that I forgot most of them and I’m too lazy to search for their names. I did you a favor by putting reference links to more information about them so please do the honors of reading more about them if you find them interesting.
Until the next archive.
The Viter-Ybasco University 